As most of you know I write articles for various publications on Blackjack and Blackjack Tournaments. I recently wrote one on the Blackjack Ball that takes place in Las Vegas and is hosted by Max Rubin. During the Blackjack Ball there is a test given to the blackjack pros and authors that attend.
This article appeared in BJInsider.com in their Feburary Issue. The answer to this test appear in the March Issue which was just released.
Take the test and see how you would have done.
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BLACKJACK BALL 2011
Round One Questions
1 True or False. Harrah’s in Atlantic City has a rule, which restricts you to betting on only one spot on a blackjack table if you do not use a player’s card.
2. Which of these statements is NOT true?
a. At Barona, the casino where all of you have agreed not to play at this year, all of the $25 and up chips are embedded with RFID tags.
b. If you were to take a $25,000 chip to the Bellagio cage and try to cash it, by state law the casino would have to give you $25,000 in cash for that chip unless they could prove that you did not get the chip while you were gambling there.
c. The Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas tracks blackjack bets in their high roller room with RFID technology.
d. The Bellagio had RFID tags in their $25,000 chips that were stolen in the recent heist and those chips have since been replaced. Players have been given about four months to redeem their outstanding $25,000 chips.
3. The world’s largest lottery is held every December in Spain. What is it called?
4. This question is from James Grosjean, so if you dispute the answer, you can take it up with him. Assuming that you are seeing the hole card on a traditional blackjack game and playing with no cover, off the top you have a positive edge against any possible hole card except an Ace. True or False?
5. As of last Thursday, which of these casinos was still using Griffin to identify advantage players?
a. The Horseshoe in Tunica
b. Hard Rock, Tampa Bay
c. Sam’s Town Las Vegas
d. All of the above
6. According to Stanford Wong’s Current Blackjack News, as of November 30, 2010 there were eight casinos in Clark County Nevada, which offered full-pay single-deck blackjack. Which of those casinos has the most full pay single-deck blackjack tables?
7. True or False? At the Parx Casino north of Philly, if you’re a $500 flat bettor playing a normal game, you must play at least 2 ½ hours before you are even eligible to earn a measly meal comp of any sort. In addition, even if you blow $10,000, if you do not ask for your comp on the very day that you play, the tight ass comps you might have earned disappear forever.
8. The most rapidly growing blackjack side bet in America is now featured on over 600 tables. What is this side bet called?
a. Money Money
b. Lucky Lucky
c. Winner Winner
d. Bet the Bust
9. Spell the name of the town that the Chumash casino is located in? Remember, even if you do not know the answer, you must write something.
10. True or False? In a standard deck of Bee playing cards, the one eyed Jacks sport mustaches and the other two Jacks do not.
11. Here is another one from Grosjean, so think hard. Assume that you will play one round of heads up on a single-deck, 3-2, DAS, D11 game (don’t forget to remember your acronyms) where you know the exact value of the top card when it is your turn to act on our hand. If you play with discretion, which of the following sacrifices will cost you the most?
a. Not hitting hard 19 and higher.
b. Not splitting tens.
c. Not doubling on a blackjack.
d. Not splitting fives.
12. If you look at the front of an Ace of Clubs on any deck of cards, you will see that the card is not symmetric. By that, I mean the orientation of the single club pip is either pointing up or down. On other cards, there are more pips either on the top half or bottom half of the card. On a perfectly cut deck of cards, how many of the fronts of the cards are not symmetrical?
13. True or False: According to the Nevada Gaming Abstract, in the twelve months ending October 31, 2010 the poker games in Clark County raked in more money than the entire blackjack tables in Nevada outside of Clark County won.
14. Which of these Las Vegas hotel casinos was the last to open?
A) New York New York
B) Hard Rock
C) Monte Carlo
D) Orleans
15. Rounded to the nearest whole number, within one whole number, how many total CUBIC inches of VOLUME does a standard double deck have? You have one minute to write your answer. In addition, you can use the back of your card to figure out the answer, but you must write something before we move on.
16. This one was verified by Bob Nersesian and as far as this question is concerned, his word is gold. True or False. As of tonight, licensed casinos in three states are barred from barring card counters.
17. In the National Lampoon movie, “Vegas Vacation,” what casino is Chevy Chase playing blackjack in when the dealer says to him, “You don't know when to quit, do ya Griswold?... Here's an idea: Why don't you give me half the money you were gonna bet, then we'll go out back, I'll kick you in the nuts, and we'll call it a day!”
a. The Mirage
b. Caesars Palace
c. The Riviera
d. The scene is not set in an actual casino
18. Within three percent, what percent of all legal sports bets made in Nevada did Cantor Gaming handle while operating the sports books at the M, Hard Rock, and Tropicana casinos last year?
19. True or False. The toll free number for the Isle of Capri Casino in Jackpot, Nevada is 1-800-Bad Luck. Anyone caught using their phone to call this number will be disqualified.
20. If A is the answer, then the answer is what?
A. A
B. B
C. C
D. None of the above
21. Max Rubin; the host of the Blackjack Ball, developed the world’s only functioning blackjack side bet with a progressive jackpot. It is now in action, rocking, and rolling at our sponsor’s casino (that would be Barona) right now. Name it.
Here is the tiebreaker question: all six players with 11 correct answers had to answer the following question with no repeats
“Name a Caesar's Entertainment casino (which they either own or manage) anywhere in the world that deals blackjack (with no repeats).”
The tied players made it through the line three times before someone repeated Harrah's Las Vegas. Five players then made it to the finals
**************************************************************************************************
I hope you had a good time testing your gaming knowledge with this article. As most of you are aware, I had been writing for the Blackjack Insider every month since early 2003 and have been on hiatus for almost a year now. It felt good to get in front of the keyboard and once again share my experience with you. I hope you look forward to my next article in the March 2011 of the BJI that will contain all of the answers to this test, plus who the finalists were, and who was crowned the #1 Advantage Player of 2010.
I will also reveal in next month’s article who was elected as the newest member of the Blackjack Hall of Fame
Until next time may, all your aces have paint on them.
The House of Pane
This article appeared in BJInsider.com in their Feburary Issue. The answer to this test appear in the March Issue which was just released.
Take the test and see how you would have done.
****************************************************************************************************
BLACKJACK BALL 2011
Round One Questions
1 True or False. Harrah’s in Atlantic City has a rule, which restricts you to betting on only one spot on a blackjack table if you do not use a player’s card.
2. Which of these statements is NOT true?
a. At Barona, the casino where all of you have agreed not to play at this year, all of the $25 and up chips are embedded with RFID tags.
b. If you were to take a $25,000 chip to the Bellagio cage and try to cash it, by state law the casino would have to give you $25,000 in cash for that chip unless they could prove that you did not get the chip while you were gambling there.
c. The Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas tracks blackjack bets in their high roller room with RFID technology.
d. The Bellagio had RFID tags in their $25,000 chips that were stolen in the recent heist and those chips have since been replaced. Players have been given about four months to redeem their outstanding $25,000 chips.
3. The world’s largest lottery is held every December in Spain. What is it called?
4. This question is from James Grosjean, so if you dispute the answer, you can take it up with him. Assuming that you are seeing the hole card on a traditional blackjack game and playing with no cover, off the top you have a positive edge against any possible hole card except an Ace. True or False?
5. As of last Thursday, which of these casinos was still using Griffin to identify advantage players?
a. The Horseshoe in Tunica
b. Hard Rock, Tampa Bay
c. Sam’s Town Las Vegas
d. All of the above
6. According to Stanford Wong’s Current Blackjack News, as of November 30, 2010 there were eight casinos in Clark County Nevada, which offered full-pay single-deck blackjack. Which of those casinos has the most full pay single-deck blackjack tables?
7. True or False? At the Parx Casino north of Philly, if you’re a $500 flat bettor playing a normal game, you must play at least 2 ½ hours before you are even eligible to earn a measly meal comp of any sort. In addition, even if you blow $10,000, if you do not ask for your comp on the very day that you play, the tight ass comps you might have earned disappear forever.
8. The most rapidly growing blackjack side bet in America is now featured on over 600 tables. What is this side bet called?
a. Money Money
b. Lucky Lucky
c. Winner Winner
d. Bet the Bust
9. Spell the name of the town that the Chumash casino is located in? Remember, even if you do not know the answer, you must write something.
10. True or False? In a standard deck of Bee playing cards, the one eyed Jacks sport mustaches and the other two Jacks do not.
11. Here is another one from Grosjean, so think hard. Assume that you will play one round of heads up on a single-deck, 3-2, DAS, D11 game (don’t forget to remember your acronyms) where you know the exact value of the top card when it is your turn to act on our hand. If you play with discretion, which of the following sacrifices will cost you the most?
a. Not hitting hard 19 and higher.
b. Not splitting tens.
c. Not doubling on a blackjack.
d. Not splitting fives.
12. If you look at the front of an Ace of Clubs on any deck of cards, you will see that the card is not symmetric. By that, I mean the orientation of the single club pip is either pointing up or down. On other cards, there are more pips either on the top half or bottom half of the card. On a perfectly cut deck of cards, how many of the fronts of the cards are not symmetrical?
13. True or False: According to the Nevada Gaming Abstract, in the twelve months ending October 31, 2010 the poker games in Clark County raked in more money than the entire blackjack tables in Nevada outside of Clark County won.
14. Which of these Las Vegas hotel casinos was the last to open?
A) New York New York
B) Hard Rock
C) Monte Carlo
D) Orleans
15. Rounded to the nearest whole number, within one whole number, how many total CUBIC inches of VOLUME does a standard double deck have? You have one minute to write your answer. In addition, you can use the back of your card to figure out the answer, but you must write something before we move on.
16. This one was verified by Bob Nersesian and as far as this question is concerned, his word is gold. True or False. As of tonight, licensed casinos in three states are barred from barring card counters.
17. In the National Lampoon movie, “Vegas Vacation,” what casino is Chevy Chase playing blackjack in when the dealer says to him, “You don't know when to quit, do ya Griswold?... Here's an idea: Why don't you give me half the money you were gonna bet, then we'll go out back, I'll kick you in the nuts, and we'll call it a day!”
a. The Mirage
b. Caesars Palace
c. The Riviera
d. The scene is not set in an actual casino
18. Within three percent, what percent of all legal sports bets made in Nevada did Cantor Gaming handle while operating the sports books at the M, Hard Rock, and Tropicana casinos last year?
19. True or False. The toll free number for the Isle of Capri Casino in Jackpot, Nevada is 1-800-Bad Luck. Anyone caught using their phone to call this number will be disqualified.
20. If A is the answer, then the answer is what?
A. A
B. B
C. C
D. None of the above
21. Max Rubin; the host of the Blackjack Ball, developed the world’s only functioning blackjack side bet with a progressive jackpot. It is now in action, rocking, and rolling at our sponsor’s casino (that would be Barona) right now. Name it.
Here is the tiebreaker question: all six players with 11 correct answers had to answer the following question with no repeats
“Name a Caesar's Entertainment casino (which they either own or manage) anywhere in the world that deals blackjack (with no repeats).”
The tied players made it through the line three times before someone repeated Harrah's Las Vegas. Five players then made it to the finals
**************************************************************************************************
I hope you had a good time testing your gaming knowledge with this article. As most of you are aware, I had been writing for the Blackjack Insider every month since early 2003 and have been on hiatus for almost a year now. It felt good to get in front of the keyboard and once again share my experience with you. I hope you look forward to my next article in the March 2011 of the BJI that will contain all of the answers to this test, plus who the finalists were, and who was crowned the #1 Advantage Player of 2010.
I will also reveal in next month’s article who was elected as the newest member of the Blackjack Hall of Fame
Until next time may, all your aces have paint on them.
The House of Pane